Episode 92: Reclaiming Indigenous Birth Practices with Mmatshilo Motsei

In this episode of the Money Magic Podcast Vangile welcomes Mmatshilo Motsei, an expert in African birthing practices, author, PhD holder, and former activist, as her guest. 

Mmatshilo shares her journey, from feeling burdened by her family's legacy of healers to embracing it as a privilege.

She shares how education often focuses on making a living rather than nurturing dreams and the pressure to conform to societal expectations, especially for women. She highlights the importance of resilience and the need to acknowledge contradictions in indigenous knowledge due to colonization.

She reflects on the impact of hospital births on maternal and infant trauma and advocates for home births as a less violent alternative. She discusses the politicization of childbirth, particularly in developing countries, and the importance of education and advocacy for women's rights in birthing choices.

Mmatshilo also emphasizes the significance of respecting women's choices in pain management during childbirth and cultural rituals surrounding pregnancy and naming ceremonies.

The conversation extends to the undervaluation of reproductive labor and the lack of understanding among men about the birthing process. She also shares personal experiences and discusses the importance of communal support during childbirth and the transformative power of birth stories. She also announces the launch of Africa Ikalafe Pluriversity, an academy for indigenous knowledge focused on African spirituality and childbirth philosophy.

This is another powerful podcast episode.

Tune in.

Click play on the video to watch.

During this episode, you will learn about:

- 00:02:20: Introduction to Mmatshilo Motsei, an expert in African birthing practices

- 00:08:30: Being labelled a rebel and navigating societal expectations

- 00:13:09: The prize of conforming and going against your soul

- 00:16:07: Life is like a dance

- 00:19:17: Journey from being a nurse to midwife to PhD

- 00:23:58: The trauma of birth

- 00:28:42: Christianizing indigenous practices

- 00:32:00: The role of Indigenous midwives in childbirth

- 00:38:08: The politicization of childbirth

-00:42:24: The politicization of childbirth and empowering women's birthing choices

 - 00:46:00: Dealing with blame, shame and guilt after giving birth

- 00:51:93: Pre-conception rituals to welcome the soul

- 00:55:59: The importance of communal support after childbirth

- 01:00:12: The invisibility of reproductive labor

- 01:06:50: Being conceived through love and how birth stories shape us

-01:11:31: Reinterpreting your birth story

- 01:13:08: Launching Africa Ikalafe Pluriversity

- 01:19:40

Contact Mmatshilo at: https://afrikaikalafe.org/

Or  

Register for The African Spirituality of Childbirth course at: https://learn.afrikaikalafe.org/

Notable Quotes 

1.  "Success and prosperity must be our default, must be a place where we operate from."

2.   "Once you know what your no-no is... you refuse to take it."

3.  "The womb is a carrier of life and also a carrier of pain."   

4.  "Stories are about interpretation. You reinterpret it in a way that makes sense for you in this world now.”

5.   “Life is like a dance... You conform for some time to buy yourself time."

Additional money resources:

One on One Coaching: https://www.wealthy-money.com/coaching 

7 Day Tapping into Ancestral Money Wisdom Training: https://wealthy-money.com/training

Let’s connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vangilemakwakwa/